No Place Like Home
by Wes Sirius
Summary: A continuation of Go For the Shot. The first date went surprisingly smooth, but Agent 8 feels his special squid is hiding something.


It was late night at the Angelfish apartment. Orcus and Allison were in their shared room, chilling after their little date. Orcus was at the desk, solving a dusty Rubix cube, whose colors had faded slightly, while Allison was lying on her bed reading the newest issue of her favorite ongoing comic series, Bottled Up. Nicholas, on the other hand, was at Trenton's place for a few rounds of Cephalopod Arena with the shy boy.

"And...there we go!" Orcus announced victoriously as he put the completed cube on the table, proud of his accomplishment. It took a while, but it was worth seeing his hard work come to fruition. "Agent 3! I solved the cube!"

"Really?" The colorful cube on her desk answered her question. "Great job, Eight!"

"Heh, thanks." Orcus got off the chair and flopped down onto his bed and turned his head to look at Allison, an awkward smile on his face. "So, that date… it sure was something, isn't it?"

"Yeah." A slight blush flooded Allison's cheeks as she chuckled. "Well, it's finally come to this, huh?"

"Took both of us quite a while, but we did it. Heh." He scratched the back of his head before he asked another question, "You want to do this again someday?"

"Oh, why not?" She answered casually. "Hanging out with you is fun."

"Really? Thanks." Orcus looked around, trying to find something to do, until a small picture captured his attention.

"What's that picture, Agent 3?" Allison got up and looked at the framed photo on the desk that Agent 8 was pointing at. A wave of nostalgia washed over her as she picked up the yellowed photo and looked at it. "This was a family photo we took on my 14th birthday. You know, the special day when Inklings and Octolings have fully developed and can shapeshift properly." She traced her eyes across the smiling faces of her father, mother and brother.

"Family photo, huh?"

"Yeah. My family's really cool."

"Just like you." Orcus mumbled affectionately under his breath, too quietly for Allison to hear it.

"I haven't seen Mom and Dad in quite a while…" The atmosphere of the room suddenly became slightly melancholic as her tone shifted. "I want to see them again."

"You can. How about tomorrow?"

A soft "maybe…" was all that escaped her lips. Orcus' eyes caught sight of her ears folding back, a biological reflex in Inklings and a tell-tale sign of extreme emotions. Something's bothering her.

"Agent 3," Orcus approached her and held her shoulders gently. "Is something wrong?"

"Nothing. I'm fine." She tried to keep her voice calm, but it betrayed her at "fine". She sounded as if she was holding back from bursting into tears.

"You're lying." Orcus' voice became serious, but he remained gentle and patient. "Tell me what's wrong."

Looks like she won't be able to get away from him with this one. "You know, I told Mom I'd come and see her last week, but I couldn't, because I had to go for a scouting mission at a kettle. And when I'm done, I forgot. _I forgot my parents_, Agent 8." The melancholy suddenly flooded the room at full force. "I want to see them, but there's so much stuff happening right now; I can't even find time to visit Mom and Dad. I wish I can just stop being Agent 3 and go back to my old life. I… I miss them." She felt something escaping her eyes and landing softly on the marble floor. "Oh my cod, I'm so pathetic…"

"What? Agent 3, you're not pathetic!" Orcus consoled her. "What makes you say such a thing?"

"I'm crying over such a small matter, Eight." Her voice became shaky. "I'm so soft and pathetic."

"Agent 3, it's alright to cry." Orcus pulled her into a hug and rubbed her back gently. "I won't call something like this 'small'. It's okay to cry if it bothers you, Three." Although he didn't understand the feeling of parental love between parent and child, he will not tolerate Agent 3 beating herself up like this. "It's okay, Three. You are not pathetic. We all cry sometimes, don't we?"

"I miss them…" Allison mumbled through her sobs and sniffles. "I want to see them again…"

"I understand." With that, Orcus held the sobbing Inkling in his arms, humming a small song until she finally calmed down. When she did, she looked up at the Octoling, "Th-Thank you, Eight. Thank you for comforting me. I was just… kind of pent up with this. It's been in me for quite a while."

"It's good you finally got it off your chest, Three." Orcus took her hand and led her over to her bed. "Tomorrow, we will go and visit you parents. No crazy missions or anything, just a nice day of chatting with them. How does that sound?"

"Wait, you're coming too?" Allison asked.

"I mean, if you want to spend time with them alone, it's okay too. After all, they're your family, not mi-" Orcus was interrupted by a soft warmth enveloping his hand. He looked down and saw Allison's pale palm holding it. "Oh, what's wrong, Three?"

A smile on her face, she answered, "We'll go together."

"Really?"

"Y-Yeah. Promise?"

"...Promise." Orcus felt her palm and her soft, lush skin with his slender fingers. "That's settled, then. We'll go tomorrow. Let's sleep now. But first," He leaned forward and planted a kiss on her cheek, near her right eye, and it prompted her to flush bright orange and look away shyly. "You could've given me a heads-up."

"Hehe, rather not. That's what makes surprises fun, after all." Orcus reached for the light switch on the wall near him. "Goodnight, Agent 3."

"Night, Eight." With that, the light went off and darkness flooded the room as both agents pulled the blankets over themselves, ready for the next day.


End file.
